I have begun planning, or trying to plan, the best way to restore our kitchen. It’s a little tricky for several reasons. We have 3 doors leading into the kitchen on 3 different walls, 2 large built-in cupboards, and really no easy or inexpensive way to expand the space due to bathrooms, a stairway, plumbing and heat runs to the second story behind every wall.

On the south facing sink wall, a tile backsplash, counter and under the counter cupboards were added some time in our home’s past. They block part of the original built-in cupboards on the east and west walls.

I want to rip out the tile and MDF cupboards and plan on restoring the original built-in cupboards and having new doors made for them. The current doors are cheap MDF replacements of the originals.

If you live in an old home, and are like me, you are probably curious what your kitchen looked like almost 100 years ago. I have been researching historical publications, magazines, books and online sources for ideas to help us when we restore our kitchen. These images span the early 1900′s to the late 1920′s, but primarily focus on the earlier years.

On thing that I found very interesting is that refrigerators or ice boxes are often shown integrated into a wall or cabinetry. This “trend” is considered modern in kitchen design today. Ha!

My Mom sent me “Shop Drawings for Craftsman Interiors, Cabinets, Moldings, & Built-ins For Every Room In The Home” for an early birthday present. A section titled “Kitchen Nook” caught my eye. I have often wondered why our house didn’t have a kitchen nook or as I have more commonly heard it referred to, a breakfast nook?

Many bungalows in our neighborhood have breakfast nooks and I’ve always been a little jealous that we don’t have one.

“If space allows, every house should have a nook-a delightful little space off the kitchen for breakfast or lunch, a place for kids to do homework while dinner is being prepared, the ideal spot for coffee and conversation.”

The accompanying illustration originally printed in Gustav Stickley’s The Craftsman magazine really got my attention. The placement of the nook was in the exact spot where one our of our built-in cupboards resides. The illustration shows a very humble opening in a wall with simple molding around the opening, nothing eleborate – almost like box with a window added onto the side of a kitchen.

Why is this in any way significant? On the other side of the wall is a small half-bath that is exactly the same width as the cupboard. We know this room is original to the house but couldn’t figure out it’s original purpose? It never made sense to me why there was a small room off the back of the house that could only be accessed from the outside, off of an open back porch.

It makes more sense that this room (currently our downstairs half-bath) wasn’t open to the outside but was really a nook off the kitchen. There is room enough for 2 built-in benches with a table between them. The existing window would have been perfectly centered on the wall over table.

I have been drooling over these kitchens for the past 6 years, just waiting for the day when we remodel our kitchen.

Unfitted kitchens feature freestanding cabinetry. The cabinets are constructed of hardwoods and high quality materials. The quality of the construction often resembles a piece of furniture.

I love to imagine cooking in a kitchen like this. Well, in my fantasies, I love to imagine watching my husband, David, cooking in a kitchen like this while I sip a glass of wine and flip through the latest issue of “Food & Wine” magazine.

Martha, Martha, Martha. I LOVE this kitchen! The grayish taupe walls, the expanses of white marble and the beautiful cabinetry…I am drooling. Ms. Stewart recently posted new pictures of this kitchen on her blog.

Look at this display case. Glass on 3 sides gives it an open, airy feeling. I also like all the little touches of metal throughout the room; from the clock, to the warming drawers and the little metal knobs on the cupboards.

One benefit of owning several homes is being able to design completely different kitchens.

Dr. Seuss

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